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It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that Eterniti Caravans have gone into administration. This new and exciting brand has had a tough time and despite the good fight they were let down by means outside of their control. As of 10. 30am this morning the staff have been informed and the company is officially in the hands of the administrators, we’ve had to embargo the announcement until this time out of respect for the staff and to follow correct procedures.

All of us here at Caravan Talk would like to wish their customers and staff the very best in this trying time and hope we can all help each other get through this.

The following sections should help provide information for those who want to know or have a vested interest.

New customers

It is my understanding that Eterniti stopped taking deposits as soon as they knew they could not fulfil the orders and I hope that very few people are affected by this. However, if you are in the unfortunate situation of having paid a deposit to a company now in administration I hope this may be of some help. .

Before you take any action I would encourage you to phone the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 08454 04 05 06. The helplines are open Monday to Friday 9. 00am to 5. 00pm and standard rates apply.

The following information is not legal or financial advice, only information that has been passed over to us from a local Trading Standards department after I phoned them about this matter.

If you have paid by credit card for any amount of the cost of the caravan, under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act you should be covered for the full amount by the credit card provider (not Mastercard or Visa). If this is the case, contact your bank immediately to inform them of the situation and hopefully seek a resolution. The law is very specific on this, the whole cost of an item or service is protected, even if you only pay for a part of it with a credit card. The only condition is that the item or service you are buying costs more than £100 and less than £30,000.

If you have paid via Hire Purchase or any other form of finance where the financier owns or partially owns the product until full payment then you may also be covered, so contact them immediately.

If you have used a personal loan or debit card you are probably not covered by the same form of commercial insurance. It is still worth getting in touch with your bank/loan provider as some are now insuring debit cards against such issues, but it is unlikely. If they cannot help you then your claim will have to be made against the administrator.

Existing customers

For those of you who have already bought and received an Eterniti Caravan you should still be able to have them serviced by a caravan workshop, we’d suggest using the NCC’s Approved Workshop Scheme to find a local caravan workshop that will be able to look after your caravan. There are a few key differences between Eterniti and other brands (predominantly the slide-out mechanism), but the essentials should be familiar to most decent workshops.

If your caravan is paid for, but currently held by Eterniti Caravans for servicing or repairs, we would suggest getting in contact with the administrators immediately. If you have complete ownership of the caravan you should be able to retrieve it as it is not the property of Eterniti Caravans.

Why did this happen?

I’ve spoken with Phil, the Managing Director on several occasions and have talked with him about Eterniti Caravans going into administration. A few months ago he tried to sell his stakes in the steel company so he could pay off the startup loans and devote himself to Eterniti Caravans.

Unfortunately, there have been a few complications and both Eterniti and Phil have lost everything. Whilst I can’t offer you the full information I can say that he put everything on the line and has lost more than anyone with this sad event.

As you’ve probably seen on this forum and other Eterniti have had a tough time getting the caravans up to the standards we all expect, but they also went far above and beyond in trying to correct and fix most of these issues and this, amongst a few other insurmountable challenges, has cost them more than they could take.

All of the Eterniti staff that I’ve met have always seemed enthusiastic and friendly and everyone here wishes them our best and good luck.

Many of you may be feeling upset and outraged at this sad closing, but from all I have learned this is not the fault of any of the staff so we will not tolerate any personal remarks on this matter.

If you have any information that may help the Eterniti customers and staff, or if you just want to wish them your best, please share it here.

Time will tell as we have seen companies picked up a by new owners or manager buy outs . I dont think this company will die completely as the order books showed the demand for their product proved it .

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Time will tell as we have seen companies picked up a by new owners or manager buy outs . I dont think this company will die completely as the order books showed the demand for their product proved it .

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How sad to hear this, I was at the NEC in February and had a look at these new vans. I was very impressed and would have considered buying one if I could have towed with my present car as they were quite heavy, at least the model I would have preferred was. The quality of the materials used and the build quality were superb in my opinion.

It would pay one of the major manufacturers to pick up the company as the technology is already in place and a market was created for the new product . They completely took the caravan market by storm in the last couple of years and you only had to look at the shows and the packed Eterniti stand .

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We went up to Eterniti yesterday and had a very long chat with Neil. We were asked to keep quiet until the news was official. Neil would like to extend his apologies to all that have been expecting phonecalls over the last couple of weeks. He hasn't been allowed to have any contact with customers at all. The auditers were unaware that we were there yesterday which was the only reason we saw him.

He is gutted as can be imagined. Their order book is full and their debt, from what he told us, not that big. ....but cash flow and other issues can cripple small companies.

We were led to believe that they are going to try and find a way of rescuing the company and we certainly wish them all the luck in the world in achieving that. We know, that should they manage it, then we will be putting our order back in. There isn't another caravan on the market that comes near this one and my husband will confirm that I have looked!

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Very sad. As one of the early purchasers, I have followed the company since the first prototype . I still think it is a great concept and I am sure that someone will come along and pick it up. Feeling gutted for Phil and his team who really tried to give service in an industry noted for the lack of it. I have an early van, number 50, and bought at the launch. Maybe it will become a collectors item in due course!! Meanwhile, I am going to hang on to it and enjoy being one of the select few. Good luck to all

The only one that has the size and has shown an inclination towards takeovers over the years are Swift Group and they're now under different ownership, so policies about such things might have changed. In truth the only 'technology' that's different from what others do or have done is the slide-out mechanism, which is not so much a technology in itself, but an engineering project.

It's a great, great shame that Eterniti have gone and even more of a shame that they did so with what sounds like full order books and plenty of demand for their products.

I feel sorry for the owners as the problem here is the warranties as usually when this happens you have a dealership you can fall back on or the manufacturer if the dealership fails . This is both the dealership and manufacturer ?

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Over the past year I have come to know phil and the team well and many may have seen me at the nec and Manchester shows proudly wearing an owner shirt it is with a very heavy heart that I read this today and know that phil and the team will have done everything possible to stop this happening.

To finally get the product right to have the rug pulled just shows you can never trust the financial industry in this country

I know phil has lost millions of pounds today just trying to follow a dream to give us a caravan with room and choice so when you sit at your table tonight have a thought for a family man who has lost everything a thriving steel company and his caravan business all for following a dream wish I was so brave.

I have found him to be a person of great honesty and integrity and wish him well for the future we have lost a great person for the caravan industry today a team that pushed the boundaries of innovation

I hope as much as phil will no customers will loose out

For those who have vans remember your equipment still has a manafacurers warranty for a year

Hopefully we can all share our experiences in the forum and help solve any issues I have one of the repair guys number I will ask him if I can post it so you can contact him if you need anything done.

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Thank you for your help and support over the past 6 months since placing our order and picking up our IB4 in November. This is a loss to the caravan industry as a whole as they have shown the potenntial to customers of what can be achieved, and possibly the future of caravans in this country.

My hope is that this area on the forum dedicated to Eterniti will remain to help owners navigate the future with regard to servicing and spares issues as they arise. I feel one of the lucky ones who are owners of an Eterniti caravan and certainly feel for those who had placed orders leaving deposits that may now be under threat by the administration process.

I would also wish Phil and the team every possible success in their attempt to try to regain the company as this is a fantastic concept and design which deserves to continue.

I was and indeed still am a great believer in the concept and indeed the brand, the business has been dogged with issues from quality to finance pressures from financial institutions.

Phil was a man with a dream and he was someone who brought that dream to reality, that dream was more difficult than he imagined but he took it and ultimately has lost everything. The business was getting back on its feet and the quality was getting better when the finances ran out… My hat is off to Phil for doing what he what he did in such a short time.

This business can still work with a focus on quality and customer service, the concept and indeed brand is great if the small teething problems are sorted.

I would be willing to invest my time and money in bringing this business back and am wondering if we could get all eternity owners to invest something in this business, the advantage’s:

Real sad news . best looking touring vans on the market in my opinion . can I just offer my services to any of the lads laid off this morning . send me a pm & I may be able to help with re employment as we are launching a new land rover model this year so will be recruiting shortly .

Over the past year I have come to know phil and the team well and many may have seen me at the nec and Manchester shows proudly wearing an owner shirt it is with a very heavy heart that I read this today and know that phil and the team will have done everything possible to stop this happening.

To finally get the product right to have the rug pulled just shows you can never trust the financial industry in this country

I know phil has lost millions of pounds today just trying to follow a dream to give us a caravan with room and choice so when you sit at your table tonight have a thought for a family man who has lost everything a thriving steel company and his caravan business all for following a dream wish I was so brave.

I have found him to be a person of great honesty and integrity and wish him well for the future we have lost a great person for the caravan industry today a team that pushed the boundaries of innovation

I hope as much as phil will no customers will loose out

For those who have vans remember your equipment still has a manafacurers warranty for a year

Hopefully we can all share our experiences in the forum and help solve any issues I have one of the repair guys number I will ask him if I can post it so you can contact him if you need anything done.

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The CT administrators seemed to have moved the planed trips away thread and lumped it with other rallies. I have just left a new post there but do not think new posts show up on the Eterniti's front page which is disappointing where there is now only a link through to the new location.

The new location does not seem to be used very much with views only in the hundreds whereas our thread was in the thousands so hopefully they will relent and put it back.

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Over the past year I have come to know phil and the team well and many may have seen me at the nec and Manchester shows proudly wearing an owner shirt it is with a very heavy heart that I read this today and know that phil and the team will have done everything possible to stop this happening.

To finally get the product right to have the rug pulled just shows you can never trust the financial industry in this country

I know phil has lost millions of pounds today just trying to follow a dream to give us a caravan with room and choice so when you sit at your table tonight have a thought for a family man who has lost everything a thriving steel company and his caravan business all for following a dream wish I was so brave.

I have found him to be a person of great honesty and integrity and wish him well for the future we have lost a great person for the caravan industry today a team that pushed the boundaries of innovation

I hope as much as phil will no customers will loose out

For those who have vans remember your equipment still has a manafacurers warranty for a year

Hopefully we can all share our experiences in the forum and help solve any issues I have one of the repair guys number I will ask him if I can post it so you can contact him if you need anything done.

Excellent post. Absolutely spot on regarding the financial institution. Very sad for everybody involved( staff and customers) and if there is any justice, they will somehow manage to salvage the situation . A very sad day for the caravan industry.